The August Wilson African American Cultural Center To Host OPTICVOICES: MAMA'S BOYS' Closing Reception February 27

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC) will host a closing reception on January 27th for the groundbreaking exhibition OPTICVOICES: Mama's Boys. Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, will join us for a tour & conversation with Alaquiva at the closing reception. The interactive, multimedia exhibit addresses the trauma and healing of mothers who have lost their sons to systemic violence and aims to highlight their legacies and cement it in history. The exhibition closes on January 29, 2023.

The exhibit, by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, artist, and AWAACC B.U.I.L.D artist-in-residence Emmai Alaquiva includes 10 portraits of the victims' mothers: Gwen Carr, Mama of Eric Garner; Valerie Castile, Mama of Philando Castile; Wanda Cooper Jones, Mama of Ahmaud Arbery; Sybrina Fulton, Mama of Trayvon Martin; Latonya Green, featured with her son, Leon Ford; Allison Jean, Mama of Botham Jean; Rev. Wanda Johnson, Mama of Oscar Grant; Michelle Kenney, Mama of Antwon Rose II; Lezley McSpadden, Mama of Mike Brown; and Samaria Rice, Mama of Tamir Rice. There will also be a special tribute to the late Mamie Till-Mobley, Mama of Emmett Till. Alongside the portraits are a curated collection of the boys' artifacts and imagery of the past two years of protest. The AWAACC's B.U.I.L.D. residency program is made possible with funding from the Richard King Mellon Foundation.

"As I reflect on my time as an inaugural B.U.I.L.D. artist-in-residence, I give praise to Janis Burley Wilson, President and CEO of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC), and her vision to create a platform to produce my work into an exhibit," said Emmai Alaquiva. "Being granted a platform at the AWAACC upon which to execute my artistry is an incredible honor. "OPTICVOICES: Mama's Boys has been an innate force and steadfast call to action I feel privileged to have received. We will continue to honor the enduring spirit of these boys' Mamas and the legacies of their sons."

EXHIBITION DETAILS

OPTICVOICES: Mama's Boys

The Claude Worthington Benedum Gallery

August Wilson African American Cultural Center

980 Liberty Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Free & Open to the public

EVENT PROGRAMMING FOR CLOSING RECEPTION

Friday, January 27, 2023

7:00pm | Doors open.

7:30pm | A Welcome by Emmai Alaquiva and introduction Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner

8:00pm | Final exhibition tour with artist Emmai Alaquiva

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a non-profit cultural organization located in Pittsburgh's cultural district that generates artistic, educational, and community initiatives that advance the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. One of the largest cultural centers in the country focused exclusively on the African American experience and the celebration of Black culture and the African diaspora, the non-profit organization welcomes more than 119,000 visitors locally and nationally. Through year-round programming across multiple genres, such as the annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Black Bottom Film Festival, AWCommunity Days, TRUTHSayers speaker series, and rotating art exhibits in its galleries, the Center provides a platform for established and emerging artists of color whose work reflects the universal issues of identity that Wilson tackled and which still resonate today.